In hunter-gatherer societies men hunted animals, did women cook the food they brought back?

Answer 1

Well, i disagree about "expendability", as this looks like imposing a post-modern theory on a prehistoric society. But there is some validity to the idea of preserving the "womb-carriers' to ensure the clan continues. According to evolutionary biology, males and females specialized; realize these are generalizations:
Hunting takes certain skills that males have: superior upper body strength, ability to mimic animals (no kidding-males are generally better at this than females), a superior ability to visually track moving objects.
Females excel at seeing in low visibility situations (such as searching for small animals), superior sense of taste (which is useful for finding ripe fruit/nuts). These skills are important for gathering. Something that can be done while supervising young-and having them assist.
Humans spent the majority of their time searching for food until fairly modern times (say 1700s). Preparing food took ENORMOUS amounts of time, and it just made sense to divide the labor accordingly.

Answer 2

In those societies people did that to which they were best suited for the good of the tribe. Men often did the hunting because they were strong, sure... they also did it because they were more expendable (you need more wombs than sperm-givers to sustain a society) and the women were not free to go as they were protecting their young.

The principle of shared labor, therefore, meant that those who didn't kill it would help prepare it. So, yes, the women more often did cook it... whether or not it was they who dressed the carcass and rendered the meat varied from group to group.

It has been speculated that some younger women in such societies might have participated in the hunt... but that is likely very rare, if it happened. Since a woman's future lay back with the kids and the cooking pot and they were far more likely to be learning how to do those things, than out hunting - even before they were bearing young.

So, yes, that is often the way it worked... not because "girls should do this and boys do that" but because it was the most logical division of labor given the circumstances.

It may interest you to note that in some ancient societies the women ruled and the men fought because, again, they were considered more expendable.

Answer 3

The men were responsible for not only hunting, but protecting the clan. While on the march the women carried nearly everything so the men would be free to protect them.

Women not only cleaned and cooked the animals the men brought back, but they gathered foods while on the march and planted the first cultivated fields to make their gathering easier the next time they came that way. They also tanned hides, made clothing, and crafted most of the tools (other than tools used for making weapons). And, of course they bore and raised the children.

This is not making light of the men's contributions. Without the men protecting them, the women couldn't have done much. It was a partnership.

Answer 4

The Australian Aborigonies are an example of a hunter-gatherer society that still survives, or did until recently. I am not sure how many Aborigonies still live by hunter-gathering, if any do. It is generally the men who do the hunting and the women the gathering in such societies. It is sometimes said that these societies are more egalitarian than others, but men are still very much in charge in hunter-gatherer societies as in all others.

Answer 5

Yes. The men spent the majority of their time hunting and providing for their family, and it was the women's job to clean and cook whatever the men brought back. In the American Indian tribes, the women also used the material from the kill - the hide and bones - to manufacture clothing and utensils. Nothing from the kill was wasted.

Answer 6

Yes, the women managed the home front and did the cooking of what was gathered in the hunt.

!!

Answer 7

In most North American hunter-gatherer societies they did, but in many of them women controlled and built housing as well.

Answer 8

Duh , nothings really changed over thousand years